The present invention relates to a roll of material having a detectable starting edge. Particularly, the present invention relates to a method and apparatus for detecting a starting edge of a roll of material. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method and apparatus for detecting a starting edge of a roll of tape.
A roll of adhesive tape is often prepared by applying an adhesive composition to a backing and then winding the backing on a cylindrical core to form the roll of tape. The starting edge face of the roll of tape is often difficult to detect and/or detach from the backing.
The starting edge of an adhesive tape, generally, attaches to the backing of the adhesive tape, which makes it difficult to find the starting edge. Detaching the starting edge of an adhesive tape is especially difficult when the roll of tape is used in environments that are not well illuminated or when the roll of tape is used by a user wearing gloves or by a user having limited dexterity.
A number of methods have been developed for facilitating locating the starting edge of a roll of tape. For example, the roll of tape may be placed in a tape dispenser. However, tape dispensers are bulky, costly, and unusable in certain environments.
Accordingly, a need exists to facilitate locating the starting edge of a roll of tape under a variety of environments.